Because of confusion over how rent arrears will be tackled under the Universal Credit, almost four in 10 larger landlords intend to reduce the number of properties they let to welfare recipients according to research from the British Property Federation.

The Federation said that landlord groups, NGOs and Government should all act to reduce the uncertainty of the impact of the Government’s flagship welfare reform after it found that 39% of landlords with more than 10 properties were intending to reduce the number of properties they let to those on housing benefit, when the change comes in.

Universal Credit combines six benefits into a single monthly payment. It is designed to offer greater protection to landlords from rent arrears, but the Federation said today that the result of its survey meant that this message was not accepted by many landlords. It called for greater dialogue between landlords, tenants, NGOs and government to clearly explain the implications of Universal Credit.